My Big Brother, Pippin
by Lady Brandybuck of the Shire
Summary: See the world through the merry, shamrock-green eyes of Pippin's younger sister, Pimilla Took! Join this seven-year old on her journey of becoming a lady while getting caught up in a whirlwind of her big brother's pranks and naughtiness.
1. Farmer Maggot's Doggies

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Pimmy and the plot.

Dedication: This story is entirely dedicated to Rayne and her character, Alex in "Pippin's Relations". 

A/N: Alrighty then. This is actually "My Big Brother, Pippin" re-titled. I'm reposting this story because I love it SO MUCH! I detailed the chapters a bit more, cleaned it up, perfected it (Bwhahahaha! And now it tis alive!). My "Of Magic Flyswatters & Over-sized Hats" was taken off of fanfiction.net for false reasons. I'm hoping they'll notice their mistake & let me post it again because my cousin's & my imagination worked hard on those things *grin*. Well here it is! 

**Shamrock-Green Eyes**

By Lady Brandybuck of the Shire

_Chapter 1_

I was fightin' a big dragon. I mean bigger than . . . big. Fiercer than fierce. Redder than red!

I blocked another hot, fiery funnel of his breath with my mithril shield. He snarled bearing his big, blood-stained teeth. They smelt funny.

His eyes were full of pure insanity that came from hate and the fear that someone like me would steal his precious treasure. He reared up, spreading his magnificent crimson wings. His chest glimmered with gold. The monstrous beast was a legend all in Middle-earth have heard of in their childhood fantasies. His name was Smaug. 

I bolted behind him. My sword sparkled with readiness and suddenly—

*THUD*

The dragon took his tail and flipped me over onto my back, making my head hurt. I rubbed it as the dragon started laughing . . . no, wait . . . that was Pippin's voice! 

I snapped open my eyes and saw him. He had his arms hugging his middle, laughing and giggling like a lunatic. I was sure he was gonna hurt himself from laughin' so much! Above him, I could see my cousin, Merry. He was laughing too. What in all of Middle-earth was so funny?

I tried to sit up, but my head hurted so bad, I had to lay back down again. I glared at Pippin while holding my head, "Why are you two laughin'?" That just set 'em off again. 

I looked around. Why was I on the floor? And why was my mattress leaning against the bed? Again, I tried to sit up. Fiddlesticks! I still had a gigantical headache! 

"He flipped over you mattress, Rascal", Merry said, choking back another laugh. 

Flipped over my mattress? Pippin must be the strongest person ever! And I was gonna kill him. I grabbed his hair and yanked down hard. 

"Ow, ow!" Pippin yelped. Big baby. I was determined not to let go, but then he squeezed my wrist. My fingers automatically opened and he backed away. 

"Not fair!" I giggled and lunged at his waist, knocking him backwards. 

"You've got her feathers ruffled this time, Pip," Merry said with a cheerful grin. 

I punched at his shoulder and kept graspin' his hair. He had no chance. Pippin wailed playfully and fought to keep me at bay. I knew I had him now! Then, Pippin grabbed me by the waist and stood up to his full height effortlessly. I squirmed and kicked as hard as I could in mid-air. Merry wheezed a few soft giggles. Pippin set me down and patted me on the head like those old Hobbits we meet at big fancy outings. I hated it and he knew that, so that's why he did it. I frowned and tapped my foot. Pippin just smiled and bent to his knees to look me in the eye. 

"Hey, Pimmy-girl", he said, trying to calm me. "Remember that you, me, and Merry are gonna to steal from Farmer Maggot's today?"

I smiled as big as I could stretch my mouth. Oh, boy! I loved stealing from ol' Farmer Maggot's! Except when we were chased by the doggies—I hate the doggies. I nodded my head hard, but then I remembered I had a headache. Fiddlesticks! Pippin smiled and motioned for me to follow him out of the room. I started to follow, but Merry tapped me on the nose.

"Hey", he smiled. "I didn't get a 'hullo' from my favorite cousin."

"Hullo!" I smiled and gave him a big hug. My arms only reach half way around his waist, but he knew it was the biggest hug I could manage. Merry is really nice and silly; I was glad he was going with us. He and cousin Frodo are my favoritest cousins ever. But Pippin is my favoritest brother! I love my sisters too, but they're not as fun as Pippin.

We snuck real quietly like Pippin an' I practiced before down the hall and past the kitchen. Out the door and down the road we went. We looked back at the house. Phew! No one had seen us sneak out. I followed Merry and Pippin, skipping as I went along.

We walked for a very long time. I began to count the stumps I saw. There weren't many since hobbits don't like to cut down their trees. My favouritest tree in the whole Shire was the Party Tree at Bag End. Uncle Bilbo used to live there, but he left after his eleventy-first birthday and now only Frodo lives there. I wondered if Frodo still climbed that tree. It was great for climbin'! 

I was beginning to get impatient. I liked stealin' from Farmer Maggot's, but it always took so long to get there. I kicked a few stones at Pippin's feet. 

"Ack! Hey!" He whirled around and gave me a noogie. Ow! I hate those. And we continued trudging along the path.

Finally, after what seemed like hours and hours, I spotted the tall cornstalks of Farmer Maggot's field. Yes! We were here! I squealed and started to jump up an' down, but Merry tapped me on the nose again.

"Shh! Quiet down Rascal", he smiled and turned to Pippin. It looked like they were tryin' to work out a plan. I frowned; it usually wasn't a good thing when _they_ were planin' somethin'. 

I stood there for a few minutes. I tapped my foot and sighed loud enough so they could hear me. 

They did. 

Pippin turned to me and said, "Just be patient, Chipmunk." He smiled and bent down to my height. He motioned for Merry to come over. Oh boy! I got to be part of the plan too!

"Okay, here's what we're planning to do, Chipmunk", Pippin looked me in the eye. "It's real simple. Merry is going to distract the dogs on the other side of the fence."

Uh, oh! Poor Merry.

"Then", Pippin continued. "You and I are gonna grab as many veggies as we can. We're gonna have to carry a little extra, 'cause Merry won't be here. Alright, Chipmunk?"

I saluted and nodded excitedly. Oh, boy. This was gonna be tough. Carryin' extra would be hard. I usually had enough trouble carryin' the regular amount because my arms aren't as big as Merry or Pippin's. But Pippin was strong; he could do it! I was determined, and I marched off with Pippin as Merry snuck around the fence.

Pippin and I came to a little hill. We had to keep a sharp eye out just in case Maggot was lurking around his cornstalks. Suddenly we heard a lot of barking. I choked back a small squeal. I hate those doggies. They're so mean. Pippin grabbed my hand and pulled me down.

"Ow!" I said. 

"Sh! Sh! Sorry", Pippin put a finger on my lips. "Are you ready?"

I saluted. Pippin smiled and ruffled my coppery curls. I pushed his hand away. He knows I don't like people touching my hair. It annoys me. But he does it anyway. 

He peeked over the hill trying to spot Merry. Then he waved his big hand and tapped me on the shoulder, holding up a finger. He counted to three and then, with a quick wave of his arm, motioned for me to follow quickly. 

We stayed low to the ground and went as fast as we could into the cornfield. The corn was itchy and scratched my arms as I followed Pippin to the other end where the vegetable garden was. Finally, we reached the little clearing where all the veggies grew. I tugged at Pippin's blue-green coat excitedly. All the veggies were ripe and fresh. The tomatoes were huge!

We tip-toed our way into the garden, always looking around just in case. I smiled at the ripe, red tomatoes bursting with flavour. What a lively stew that would make! Yummy! We started picking as many of the veggie delights as we possibly could. Soon, my apron pocket was full of tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and thick, yummy mushrooms. Mushrooms were my favorite. I hate celery. I never pick it whenever we come here. Pippin had a big smile on his face as he filled his pockets to the brim. Then we began storing them in our arms. My arms were completely full in no time. One more and I would fall over! Then Pippin tried to put one more tomato in my arm. I shook my head no. He just laughed and jammed it into my mouth. Ugh! I couldn't get it out! It was stuck in my teeth. 

Pippin nodded his head toward the road. It was time to go. Yay! We didn't get caught!

But I spoke too soon. Suddenly, the faint sound of barking was heard from far off toward the direction of the fence. The pounding of more than six sets of hardy paws set with razour-sharp claws were growing nearer every second. I looked at Pippin, surprised and scared. What were gonna do?! He was stiff and looking towards the dogs. I could tell he was frightened out of his skin 'cause he kept saying "Oh, no, oh no, oh no" over and over again. 

He whipped his head around to face me and shouted, "RUN!!"

Without question, I ran. I moved my furry feet as fast as they could go. We scrambled into the cornfield, the itchy leaves scratching at my arms and legs. I was sure I was gonna have blisters—big nasty yellow ones. I could hear the barking grow louder. A few tomatoes dropped from my arms. Oh well. No time to pick those up!

Then we flew up the dirt path and Pippin careened into Merry, who was red with exhaustion.

"What happened?" Pippin's voice had an edge of annoyance. 

"I kept them as long as I could. I swear! But one of them notice you two and that sent the whole group after you."

Pippin opened his mouth, but whatever he was about to say was stopped by the sound of that ever-pursuing barking and howling down the road. Oh boy. They were still after us!

"Run!" Merry and Pippin shouted together, but I didn't need their warning to prompt me to beat it! I dropped the tomatoes, not caring anymore; I still had plenty left in my pockets. We sped down the road. Pretty soon, I could feel my heart on fire, it's rate doubled by fear and running so fast to keep up with Merry and Pip. I hate that feeling. I was desperate for rest. I started to lag behind, but Pippin grabbed my hand and practically dragged me all the way to the market area in Tookland.

As we closed in on the market place, we stopped to listen again. Fiddlesticks! There was still barking! We rolled our eyes and ran down the main street. We had to jump, squeeze through, and dodge all sorts of carts and buggies. We accidentally startled a few ponies and spilled baskets of freshly harvested crops. Hobbits were screaming behind us as the dogs came bounding through the crowd. 

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Merry kept screaming. We pushed and pulled through the crowds of Hobbits and animals. The dogs were so close! We had to get through!

When I was sure I could go no longer, large arms swooped me up from the ground an' carried me to safety with ease. It was my father!

"Paddy!" I squealed and hugged his neck. He set me down and looked into my wide green eyes sternly. Uh, oh. I was gonna get it now. Pippin and Merry came panting up to us a few seconds later. Pippin immediately noticed Paddy's disappointed look and his satisfied grin vanished.

Paddy sighed heavily and motioned for us to follow him. We staggered behind a little, exhausted out of our minds. What was mum gonna do when she found out?

A/N: Yay! It's posted again! It's a bit different from the original, but the plot hasn't changed. I feel more proud of it now. Please review! Thank you!


	2. Lectures & Dominic

A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far. I love 'em! The reason why this is written on the simpler side is because this is through the eyes of a seven-year old. Hope you like this chapter.

_Chapter 2_

The journey home seemed to take an age. No one said anything; we were too tired and partly afraid to anyway. I kept thinkin' about what sort of punishment Paddy an' Mum were gonna pound us with this time. Once, a few months ago, Pippin and I had discovered an old tin of red paint Paddy had used to paint the door with. We painted all the hens' tail feathers bright scarlet. I hated those hens. When Mum found out, she was furious an' made us paint the WHOLE white picket fence. She even took away luncheon and second breakfast for two weeks! Taking meals away from Pip and I is like murder! I guess that's why Mum always takes certain meals away along with our main punishment every time we do something naughty. What was she gonna do now?

I didn't really wanna think about it right now. 

I stayed by Pippin's side the whole way home. Sometimes we would look up at each other an' smile sort of sadly. We had done a good job even though we lost most of our vegetables. I still had a bunch in my pockets that Paddy didn' know about. I knew Pippin was proud of me.

Merry parted from us a while back down the road. He probably wasn't gonna get in trouble. _His_ father didn't catch him and plus, he was older than Pip. He's too big for punishment, I think. Merry is thirty-five and Pippin only twenty-seven; not even of age yet! Now Frodo is much older than them. He is about forty-nine, but he looks like he is thirty-three; I don' no how, but he does! Folks said that he got that special trait from old Uncle Bilbo. I've never met Uncle Bilbo before because he left the Shire eleven years before I was born. But Frodo and Samwise Gamgee have told me many wonderful things about him. I wish I could meet him someday— he's met a dragon before! And not just any dragon: Smaug!

Now where was I? Oh yes, the walk back home.

As we approached our home, mum came bursting through the door and ran frantically towards us. She looked like she had seen a ghost!

"Oh my goodness!" she said and ran over to me, scooping me up in her arms. She squeezed so hard I couldn't breathe. When she let go, her eyes gazed accusingly at Pippin. "What happened to you two?"

I looked down at the tomato juice all over my apron and the small blisters on my arms and feet. Oops! I hadn't noticed those. My sleeve was ripped. Fiddlesticks. Mum hated it when I tore my clothes. I was _really_ gonna get it now.

She brushed some stuff off my vest an' kept lookin' up at Pippin for an explanation. "Well?" she said with her voice etched in anger.

"Why don't we go inside and I'll explain", Pippin said and shuffled into the hole. The way he was bent all tired-like reminded me of Sam's description of that old wizard that visits Frodo sometimes. Poor Pippin! He was exhausted! The yawn that escaped from my mouth reminded me that I was too. But I didn't say anything; it would just make them angrier. 

After we changed and washed up, Mum made us some tea and sat us all down in the main room. Oh boy. Whenever we were ever gonna get punished, we were always sent this room. I memorized everything— Mum would sit in the little brown cotton chair and Paddy would lounge to watch (occasionally giving his opinion) in the big, red, velvet chair.

"What happened?" Mum gave us a demanding look sitting herself in the little brown cotton chair like I predicted. She didn't need and answer and centered on Pippin. "You were stealing from Farmer Maggot's again, weren't you?"

Pippin gulped his tea a little too fast. He glanced at me, then at Mum. "Yes, we did."

Mum looked really mad now. Uh oh! Another lecture. I wanted to run under the bed an' hide. I hate lectures. There's always yellin' involved.

"Oh, Peregrin!" Mum sighed heavily with annoyance clouding her pretty features.

Ouch! A full-namer. That's never a good thing.

"Why can't you ever just stay away from there? Is there some sort of force drawing you? What fun does it bring you and Merry anyway? Oh, I know: danger! That's what it brings, danger-- danger to you and your sister. She's not big enough to fend off those dogs like you, Peregrin!" 

Hey.

"Don't give me that look, young lady." Boy mum was quick. "You know that you're not big enough to do so. You will be someday, but you're not now. Besides, Farmer Maggot has been kind to our family for years. I don't understand how you consider THIS a token of gratitude."

She had a point. A good one too. Pippin looked down at his feet, his face troubled with weariness and inner guilt. Then Mum turned to me.

"And Pimilla! You should know better by now! At age two it was understandable and maybe even a little bit cute, age four a bit more unexpected yet excusable, but you're seven years old, Honey. You know right from wrong now. I told you not to go in there and what do you do? You deliberately disobeyed me. Why?"

I hated it when she asked these rhetorical questions and actually expected me to answer them. I didn't know how to answer.

"Plus, you're growing into a young lady. This sort of boyish fiddle-faddle should be starting to disappear in your life rather than getting worse. Look at your sisters! You should think about spending more time with them instead of gala-banding about the Shire like a little boy, causing havoc and mayhem everywhere you go!"

She paused for a moment to breathe and looked out the window. Pippin and I watched her. Her eyes seemed to be lookin' far away. I bet she was thinkin' about how she was gonna punish us. Paddy hadn't said a whole word the entire time. I looked at Pippin and he just shrugged as mum came back.

"Both of you are deprived of luncheon and dinner for the next two weeks. Pippin, you will help your father with the farm most of your entire day. We will have no mercy."

Pippin looked depressed. He loved to eat an' so did I. How will we survive? This is unfair!

"Pimilla, after supper you and I will clean up the whole kitchen, _without_ breaking anything. You are to clean every single one of the dishes and your sisters will not help. Is that clear?"

I nodded and we shuffled out of the room. The punishment wasn't too bad. I didn't mind cleanin' the dishes so much; it gave me time to use my imagination. But I hated bein' lectured about being a lady. It was gettin' old. I love my sisters, but I wasn't ready to start learnin' how to sew, cook big meals, or paint teacups. I had too much energy like Pippin. Maybe I was just a late bloomer. I tried explainin' that to Mum, but she was so angry at the time, she wouldn't hear any of it.

I shuffled to my room and sat on my bed for a long time. Paddy situated my room so my window led into the barn where I could see my little donkey. I usually talk to him when I'm sent to my room like this. It sounds rather pathetic, but it's somethin' to do.

I whistled softly (Pippin taught me how, but Mum didn't approve of it). Then, Dominic came up to the window. I smiled and stroked his nose, he like that. He let out a slight whinny and I giggled. 

"Hey, Dom", I sighed. "Today wasn't a good day. I got in trouble and Mum lectured me again."

Dom seemed to understand what I said an' nudged my arm to comfort me. 

"Thanks, Rug. I suppose it was my fault anyway. But I don't like being lectured about being a lady. I can't help to wanna go on a little adventure. I like gettin' into play fights, or stealin' from Maggot's, or climbin' a tree. I can't help to wanna get out. I don't wanna have to be lady-like _all_ the time. Sitting an' sewing all day would drive me crazy!"

I paused and thought for a while. 

"I dunno, Dominic. I know I'll hafta become a lady someday. Just not now." I sighed again. "I dunno. Maybe I'm just dreamin'... like mum says. I'll never go on an adventure."

I thought about it for a while. No adventure? How could mum tell me such a thing? I want adventure more than anythin'! But as I thought of it more, maybe it WAS time to hit reality. I shuddered. I wasn't ready for that one yet; I'm pretty contend playin' pretend. I held back a tear an' patted Dominic on the head. 

Soon I fell asleep at the window seal, my hand still stickin' out. My dreams were riddled with adventures, questions, lectures, and more questions. I liked the adventures part though. But I couldn't get all these questions. I wanted them to stop. I just wanted to sleep. Suddenly, a strong, quick finger poked me awake.

"Pippin!" I squealed as my eyes snapped open. He touched my lips with his finger. He was standin' outside the window, Dom was asleep snoring somewhere in the corner.

"Shh! Boy, you're loud, Chipmunk", he smiled. Then another hand slunk around Pippin's shoulder and bopped me on the nose. I jumped and tried to bite it away as Merry's golden head peeked over Pippin's soft brown curls.

"Hullo, Merry!" I realized I was too loud and quickly covered my mouth. 

"Hullo, Rascal. Talkin' to ol' Dominic again?" Merry smiled playfully.

"What are you guys doin' here?" I whispered.

"We're getting you out of here and going to visit cousin Frodo", Pippin said. I gasped. Cousin Frodo?! I love cousin Frodo! He's fun too. He wants adventure like me and I like talkin' with cousin Frodo.

"Yay!" I covered my mouth again. Fiddlesticks! Why do I hafta be so darn loud?

Pippin grabbed my waist an' pulled me through the window without question. I looked up at him and Merry excitedly. Merry ruffled my hair and followed Pippin out of the barn. I hated that and Merry knew it as well as Pippin. I guess that's why people say they should've been twins.

We made sure the lights in the front room and the kitchen were off before we set off. It was dark so I had to watch where I was steppin'. Merry almost tripped over we twice. Silly Merry.

Once we reached the road, we kept low until we rounded the corner that got us out of site of our hobbit hole. We were free! I couldn't wait to see cousin Frodo!


	3. Giggle Fits & Pillow Fights

_Chapter 3_

Thank goodness Merry had a cart waiting around the corner or we wouldn't have reached Hobbiton until daybreak! We set off at a slow pace at first so we wouldn't make too much noise. We didn't want my parents to hear! Then once we were at a safe distance, Merry clicked his tongue and snapped the reins with a flick of the wrist. The horses went off at a steady cantor. Not galloping otherwise someone would've heard us! About half way there I began to wonder if this would put any more of a damper on our punishment that we just got. I decided not to mention that to Pippin. He seemed to be having such a good time laughin' and jabberin' with Merry. I wanted to see Frodo too and I wasn't about to spoil this chance!

As we approached Bag End, I could see the warm, cozy light of the fire streaming out of the window. Frodo's home was always cozy. Especially in the winter—I loved visitin' Frodo in the winter where he always had hot chocolate ready for us to drink and stories to tell of Bilbo, or elves, or dwarves.

The cart was small so Merry was able to stop it right in front of the fence. He knocked on the door with his fist. We waited for a few seconds and then the door swung open.

"Hullo!" Frodo said surprised, but laughing. "What are you two doing here?"

I cleared my throat really loud. Fiddlesticks, that hurted.

"Oh, you _three_." Frodo smiled at me. I smiled back. How can you not forgive cousin Frodo? He's so nice! I gave him a big hug an' then he invited us all inside.

Uncle Bilbo's place is really interestin' and fun to explore. He has a lot of things he got from his adventure all over. I heard tale of his old Elven dagger he named Sting long ago. Frodo said Bilbo had told him that the blade glowed blue when orcs were near by. Goodness! I've heard nasty stories about those things. I wouldn't wanna run into one of them! I've never seen Sting before because Bilbo took it with him when he disappeared at his eleventy-first birthday party. But I HAVE seen his cellar full of treats from just about every corner of Middle-earth! I love the dark chocolate mints the best.

We all sat at the table in the kitchen an' the older guys just talked and laughed. I hate it when older people just talk. It's boring. I tried to stay as patient as possible. I laughed when they did and tried my best to look interested. But soon, I started getting restless. I shifted in my chair a bit, twiddled my thumbs, and swayed my feet.

Then my foot hit Merry's leg. Oops! He just looked at me an' smiled mischievously. Phew. I looked back at Frodo and Pippin, who were laughin' about something again. But then something hit _my_ leg this time.

I looked at Merry, who had a playful grin on his face.

Oh, I get it!

I kicked his leg an' giggled softly. He kicked mine again. Fiddlesticks! That one hurted!

We started to kick back and forth, back and forth: no mercy! No matter what, I would not stop! I giggled loudly as our kick fight sped up. We must've looked so silly! Frodo and Pippin were startled out of their conversation and looked at Merry and I, amused.

But then Merry's whole body disappeared under the table. I whipped my head around and as bent over to look under the table, he grabbed my leg and pulled me underneath! I squealed and punched his arm.

He chuckled slyly. It seemed he had a little plan of his own. I knew I wasn't gonna like it.

He stared ticklin' me.

Not fair! I began to giggle uncontrollably. I couldn't stop! My cheeks and stomach were hurtin' just from laughing so much.

I attempted to squirm and kick my way out of his grasp, but he just kept on ticklin'. I punched his arm an' pulled his hair; it was the only thing I could do!

Merry was laughing at me as I desperately tried to escape again. I kicked wildly and he finally let go. Yes! I lunged at him, making us both topple out of under the table into a play fight. I love play fights!

I kicked, pulled hair (he yelped), an' punched as hard as I could, but Merry never grew tired. He must be made of steel!

Pippin and Frodo sat behind us watching an' laughing. Pippin broke into insane guffaws when I kicked Merry in the no-no spot. Oops! I didn't mean to. Merry fell back groaning with his eyes crossed a bit an' softly chucklin'. Merry's a good sport. That's why he's fun to play with!

"Oooooooooo!" Both Frodo and Pippin cringed. I fell back on my rump again and started giggling an' pointing. Pippin was red in the face with laughter! I cross my heart, he was about to _die_ of compulsive hysterics. Did I just use a big word? Yay!

Merry flew across the room, landing on Pippin. His chair toppled over with the two hobbits in a massive fighting ball. They fought much harder than me an' Merry. I'm glad I wasn't in it!

Frodo sat back laughing till he was purple. I jumped up and down, cheering, "You guys are such _idiots_!"

Then I glanced at Frodo, who had all his attention fixed on Merry and Pippin. The two rolled down the hall and back again, ramming against the door. Then, I got an idea.

I snuck around Frodo, as quietly as possible. When I was directly behind him, I quickly covered his eyes with my hands. He yelped softly, lifting his head, tryin' to shake my hands off. He reached his arms over and grabbed my waist, flipping me over onto his lap! Whoo! That was quite a ride!

I turned around to see him smiling at me. He ruffled my hair and snickered. Why does everyone do that?! It annoys me. He was getting' it this time!

I pushed him hard, making us both fall over in the chair. I tried to start another wrestle-fight just like with Merry. But he still had a hold on me and stood up to set me down.

Hey! This isn't gonna be over without a fight!

I lunged at him again, but my head bumped into the palm of his hand. With my head still at the end of his extended arm, I swung my arms in a punching motion, but kept missing. He was holding me too far back!

A growl escaped my throat and Frodo shot me a bewildered look. I guess I frightened him!

I guessed wrong.

He whipped his leg under me and I fell.

THUD

I giggled and grabbed his leg, trying to pull him down too. He just stood there laughing at Merry and Pippin, who were practically killing each other. Why was Frodo so strong? I guess it was because he was bigger than Merry and Pippin.

Frodo bent down to my height and tried to calm me. "Hey, wanna hear my plan?"

I quickly threw aside my urge to keep fighting and nodded my head hard. I love plans! Especially when I'm in on them.

He whispered the plan into my ear. It was simple, but it sounded fun! The boys would be surprised. We snuck back into Frodo's bedroom to get a bunch of his extra feather pillows. I couldn't wait to see Merry and Pippin's reactions!

We readied ourselves at the doorway of his room and then, at Frodo's signal, careened down the hall, pillows raised high and voices shrieking out war cries. I started hittin' Pippin with my pillow as hard as I could. He giggled and took a few hits. As they started gettin' harder, he began to fight back a little more and grabbed my pillow-- boy he has a strong grip! He shoved it in my face, making me fall backwards. Fiddlesticks!

I growled and got back up. Pippin was still laughing at me.

I lunged at him again, with the pillow in hand, and landed on his chest. He gasped for air and struggled to get free. Now I really had him!

"Whoa, Pimmy-girl! You're going to break one of my ribs before I even come of age!" He laughed wildly again. Pippin ALWAYS laughs... I guess that's what makes him Pippin!

I started to slow down on my attack and just sat in Pippin's lap giggling. That's what was happening with us. Frodo and Merry were only a few feet away from us, still fightin'.

Pippin and I were suffering from a serious giggle-fit. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't lift my pillow! Pippin had tears streaming down his eyes and is face was as red as one of Farmer Maggot's tomatoes. My cheeks hurt and so did my eyes from squinting when I laughed. We both tried to stop, but every time we looked at each other we would start laughin' again. But then we noticed that Frodo and Merry had stopped and were looking at the door.

I tilted my head in confusion. Pippin and I immediately stopped laughing as the door opened revealing Mum and Paddy. I could feel my face fall. I looked at Pippin who sighed, looking down in shame as Frodo stood up and straightened his vest. Merry just remained on the floor in a strange position, spitting out a few feathers and staring boggle-eyed at Mum and Paddy. Fiddlesticks.... no, DOUBLE fiddlesticks.... even worse, fiddlesticks with cow poo on them! Pip and I were in for it. BIG time.


	4. MORE Punishment

_Chapter 4_

Paddy gave Pippin a long, hard emerald-green stare—sort of a sad, disappointed glare. Not one of those really flaming mad glares. The one that make you want to stick your head in a fireplace and never come out. Poor Pip knew exactly what Paddy was thinkin': probably along the lines of "Why can't he ever grow up?"Mum never took her piercing blue eyes off me. I could almost feel it boring a hole straight to my throat… _strangling_ me.

Well… not really. I just wanted to use the word "boring".

I bet it was awkward for Merry and Frodo too. I usually feel embarrassed when one of my friends gets in trouble by their parents in front of me. I looked at Merry, who had feathers in his ears and hair, and almost started crying. He looked utterly guilty. Frodo seemed to take it with a more adult-like manner, seeing as he's almost 50 years old (but you wouldn't be able to see that just by looking at him). It was times like this that I really respected my cousin, Frodo.

Huh… when I was a baby Mum said I used to call him "Rodah". Sorry, random thought.

Finally, Paddy heaved a disappointed sigh, "Let's go home."

Pippin shuffled his feet, yet tried to look as brave as possible as he followed Paddy out the door. Mum immediately grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me away. I took one last glance at Frodo and Merry before the lovely green door was slammed closed.

Mum's grip was hard and cold, but I didn't dare complain or struggle because I knew she'd only tighten it. She practically pulled me all the way into the cart. We sat in the back while Pippin and Paddy drove. I could catch a few bits of Paddy talking solemnly with Pippin. Pippin just listened and made no excuses—what good would those do? Poor Pippin! I just wanted to reach up and give him a big, gigantical squeeze around his curved neck.

I had no idea what time it was. Only Paddy had a watch because I knew Pippin left his at home. I really wanted to know, but I was too scared to ask. Maybe I'll ask for a watch for my birthday.

I sighed gratefully at the sight of our hole. It was a strange feeling—I was glad to be home, but at the same time, NOT glad to be home. Kinda complicated.

Pimpernel, my second oldest sister, rushed out of the house all flustered and red in the face. She looked so mad, she could've kill a cow with her look.

"Do you even have an idea," she said shaking her finger at me, then Pippin, then back at me. "HOW much you worried us? Do you? Hm?!" She shot me a reprimanding look. Pimpernel was always nagging on me. And I hated it.

"Pimilla, you are the most reckless child on the face of the whole Middle-Earth!" she continued, rubbing her forehead. I know this is mean, but I hoped she had a headache.

She was cut off by Paddy clearin' his throat, "Pimpernel, let us be the parents, will you?"

Yes! I liked it when Paddy did that.

Pimpernel tightened her face at the command. Then she walked back to the hole with a huff. I always giggle when she walks off in that way. Pippin often teases her of looking "so hilariously like a stuffed hen" when she gets irate like that.

Mum squeezed my wrist tighter when I giggled. I stopped, rememberin' what _I_ was in for.

"She's halfway right, you know?" Mum looked sternly into my eyes. It made me want to look away. She sighed deeply, "But we'll have to talk more about this inside. Come on, Pimmy."

We walked into the warm hole. There was a large fire in the fireplace. My sisters were in the lounge, trying not to notice us. Pearl was knitting, Pervinca had her eyes fixed in a book, and Pimpernel was reading and, uh, huffing.

Paddy and Mum lead us like army people into their room. We stood by the bed, straight and stiff, waiting for the blow, and they sat in two chairs on the other side of the room.

There was silence… for a long, long time. Paddy switched calm, contemplating eyes from Pippin, to me, covering his chin and part of his mouth with his hand. Pippin and I had Paddy's eyes and hair colour, but nothing else. The rest was all Mum. If it weren't for the large gap in our ages, many say that they would have mistaken Pippin and I for twins. Pearl looked _every_ little bit like Mum, Pimpernel looked like Paddy (with Mum's almond-shaped blue eyes), and Pervinca was all Paddy (except for her golden hair, that came from Grandma). Goodness, where was I?

I was starting to fidget. Pippin just stood still. How can grown-ups do that? I then began to sway back and forth on my heels.

"Pimilla!" Mum suddenly burst out, irritated. I jumped and widened my eyes. What did I do?

"Pimpernel is right," she said desperately. "You _are_ a very reckless child and it's going to get you into deep trouble someday. How can I get you to understand? I don't want you to get hurt, Pimilla. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. You have hardly any friends that are your age—and _female_" (she emphasized "female" because I started to protest) "One of these days you'll grow up and realize you have hardly anything. Pippin and your cousins can't be your only source of friendship, Pimmy! Oh! _Why_ can you be more like your sisters?"

Oh boy. Here it comes. I could feel Pippin stiffen up beside me. He knew I hate it when people pestered me to be more like my sisters. Paddy remained in a thoughtful state, as if Mum, nor we, were even there.

Then Mum then turned on Pippin, "And you! You should have been more responsible, young hobbit. We gave you a punishment this morning, and you go off doing some other mischief again! When will you learn? Now we have to punish you even more! And I doubt if it will do any good."

Mum stopped and choked back a sob. I hate it when we make her cry like this. It makes me feel like a melting candle. A big knot of guilt twisted my gut around.

Finally, Paddy spoke up. Pain clouded his deep green eyes. His voice was low, but wise-sounding, almost the way you would expect a wizard's to sound, "Peregrin and Pimilla."

We both tensed up. Paddy, as soft as he was usually, was always pretty good at giving affective punishments.

"You will both go without second breakfast and supper for a month along with luncheon and dinner as we said before", he said gravely. "Peregrin, you will continue to spend most of your day in the field, doing the majourity of the work, as we have told you before. And Pimilla, even you will now help in the field."

I frowned slightly. I hated working in the field! It was so itchy…

"You shall, for the next month, become your mother's apprentice as Pippin will become mine. You will help your mother make every meal and clean up everyone's dish. You will also help her around the hole _the entire day_."

We both stood silent for a moment and looked at each other slowly. The exact same message read clearly in both of our identical eyes: we deserved it and that's what made it so hard.

Paddy eyed us, "Is that perfectly clear?"

We both nodded our curly auburn heads. Then Paddy nodded as our cue to leave and we shuffled down the hall to our rooms gloomily.

I sighed and looked up at Pippin for some sort of guidance, reassurance, or something, I'm not sure what, but whatever I needed, I knew he'd give it to me. He looked down at me and a smile crept over his face, brightening his green eyes.

He chuckled and patted my back, "That was some fightin' you did back there."

I let a little smile escape. Pippin knew precisely how to lift my spirits. He glanced back at Mum and Paddy's room.

"This is gonna be one long month", he sighed. I nodded in weary agreement and with that, we went our separate ways to our rooms.

A whole month without any second breakfast, luncheon, or supper. How would we survive? That night I couldn't sleep: not one ity, bity bit.

A/N: Oh wow. Sorry for that super long delay you guys. Hope all of you had a wonderful holiday! I know I did.

(FT, I got kicked off in the first place because I exchanged addresses with a friend I met on fanfiction without my parents knowing. When I told them, it was too late. But now I'm back! Good to see you or… talk to you again!)


	5. Warriors of the Kitchen Table

_Chapter 5_

That must have been one of the worst nights of my life. I just could not get tired or sleepy. I tried everything: not moving, reading for a little bit to get my eyes tired, talking to Dominic, counting sheep… _everything_.

I was finally startin' to doze off when at the crack of dawn, Pimpernel burst through the door. I closed my eyes with my back to her, pretending I was asleep. Even though I couldn't see a thing, I could tell Pimpernel was standing right above me. I could hear her huffin' and puffin' all angry-like. Why does she always have to be so frustrated? It really is too bad because Pimpernel is actually very pretty, but her constant anger contorts her features so that you can never see her true beauty unless she's laughin' or smilin' (which isn't very often). I wonder what made her that way?

She stomped over to my window and threw open the curtains. A tiny beam of blue light streamed in. Pimpernel grabbed my covers and tossed them off. I quickly curled up into a shivering ball like a rolly-polly bug.

"Pimilla Took," Pimpernel groaned and poked me hard with her slender finger. I frowned and opened my eyes a little, half squinting, half glaring at her. She put her hands on her hip and raised her naturally arched eyebrows.

"You know full well that you and Pippin brought this upon yourselves", she said. "Now get up! You have to go fetch the eggs."

With that, she walked out of the room in that funny way that always makes me laugh. Pippin, who was coming down the hall, heard me.

A little fluff of wild, rusty brown curls appeared from behind the door. Two sparkling green eyes followed and then an up-turned nose. I giggled out loud and fell back on my pillow. The eyes scanned the room as if looking for somethin' mischievous to do. He ran into my room and leaped onto my bed causing it to sway and shake violently. I squealed playfully and bounced, trying to imitate him. He laid with his elbows propping him up and a grave look on his face. It startled me for a moment.

His eyes sparkled merrily again as the dimples in his cheeks deepened and a large smile spread across his face. I smiled again. He was only jokin'. Pippin was always jokin', I should'a known.

"Hey, Chipmunk", he patted my back a bit more seriously. "We got quite a month ahead of us don't we?"

I rolled my eyes at the reminder and nodded, "No second breakfast..."

Pippin patted me again and stood up, sighing hard, "Well, let's get breakfast now." Then he added darkly as if we were about to be executed, "…our one and only."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He abruptly grabbed his neck and rolled his eyes back, making gagging noises as he fell to the ground. He writhed about on the floor for a few seconds, feigning a struggle with… something. He reached out to me desperately.

"Pimmy!" He gasped harder. "Go on without me... bring back second breakfast and save the world." Then his head dropped back dramatically and he lay motionless-- dead.

I grinned at his antics and peered down at his face. It was deathly still and a bit eerie. Pippin was always so good at playin' dead. He had me fooled a couple times when I was littler. I poked my pointer finger in between his eyebrows and giggled a little. He remained perfectly frozen. So, I poked him again, and again, and again.

Suddenly, his eyes popped open, twinkling, and full of playfulness. His hand shot up and grabbed my wrist and I yelped, trying to pull back, but he was much too strong. Pippin stood to his feet, laughing maliciously through his teeth. I had to stand on my tippy toes 'cause he's so tall. He's even taller than Pearl, our oldest sister! (Which actually isn't sayin' much because our family is rather on the short side anyway). He pulled me up with one arm (wow, Pippin's really strong!). Then he caught me with the other arm and looked me in the eye, very seriously, but with a hint of mischief. His stare made me want to laugh again because Pippin always looks weird when he's serious. But instead, I shot it right back.

"The world will suffer a great doom if we do not save second breakfast", he said in a low, sinister voice. I laughed as he shoved me under his arm and carried me around like a lame calf. I simply hung limp in his arm as we entered the kitchen. He continued his speech as if he were a king addressing his army before a mighty battle.

"It is up to you and I, the mightiest, the fastest, the most cunning knights of the Round Table of the Took Kitchen to push aside the walls of captivity, break the chains in injustice, and free the people of the Great Smials, bringing second breakfast back to _all_!"

When we entered the kitchen, Mum was flinging open the curtains, letting the sunrise pour into the room and glanced over her shoulder at our act. She hid a small chuckle (obviously she had heard Pippin's speech) and then turned to face us, trying her best to look serious.

Pervinca stepped in, carrying the egg basket. She laughed softly at us but quickly tucked her head into her shoulders when Mum shot her a restraining glare.

"Peregrin", Mum said. "Go outside and fetch some herbs and vegetables. Pimilla, you fetch a dozen eggs." She took the egg basket from Pervinca and handed it to me. Her cold stare nearly pushed me out the door and into the orange-tainted outdoors. (I could hear Pippin behind me, "This is your first task: Go! Go forth and bring back a dozen eggs. _Do not fail me!_").

I hate looking for eggs. Ivan the Terrible, the "Devil Rooster", is always picking on me and clucking' in my face. When I push him away, he screeches and flutters to get Mum's attention and then I get in trouble for "hurting" him. I took a deep, determined breath and bravely marched over to the chicken coop, armed with my basket. Pippin stumbled out of the hole giggling about something he and Pervinca were talking about inside and then went skipping off like a fairy princess, making up a song about how green the grass was, how blue the sky seemed, and how white the fence looked while rubbing his nose into random flowers.

I stuck my head into the musty chicken coop (it always smelt SO bad). All the hens were fast asleep and there were plenty of eggs. I bit my lip as I slowly, cautiously stretched out my arm, delicately picked up an egg, and laid it in the basket. Yes! They didn't wake up.

I grabbed about five more eggs without any trouble. But just as I was reaching for the sixth, Ivan the Terrible was strutting past outside and whirled on me. He scampered so fast after my bent over figure it was frightening.

He crowed what he thought was majestically and launched a full force attack on my nose.

"Ouch!" I squealed as my head sprang up only to hit it on the roof of the coop. I glared at Ivan, rubbing my scalp, and growled sinisterly. I was determined not to let him get the best of me this time.

I rolled up my sleeves and reached around him, grabbing some more eggs with him still pecking at my arm. I kept reaching for more and more, not relenting one bit, and he kept squawking louder and louder. I was sure he would peck my arm clear to the bone! He had already poked a few holes in my sleeves. Fiddlesticks! Mum would be really angry.

Just as Ivan gave up on my arm and proceeded to peck at my head, I heard him squawk and get yanked away. As the dust cleared, I spotted Pippin's head pop in through the other end of the coop. He chuckled a little and smiled.

"You have defeated the Enemy", he said with a deep voice.

I heaved a relieved and thankful sigh.

"You should have seen Ivan's face," I said chuckling, a bit weary after the fight. Pippin came around the coop with a majestic swagger and a powerful smirk.

"You have done well", he said. "But this is not the end… only the beginning. There shall be many more battles between you and Ivan the Terrible. He _shall_ return."

I ignored his act. "Did you hear him? I've never heard anything so—ACK!" Pippin cut me off grabbing me by my feet and dangling me upside down.

"Did he sound something like that?" Pippin laughed, his cheeks painted a light shade of red. I giggled wildly and continued to squirm around for freedom. And I got it: the hard way.

"Oof!" I landed on a small haystack headfirst (itchy!). I growled and lifted my head up, glaring at Pippin who was about to wet himself with laughter. I spit out a few straws and lunged for him with my hair fuller of hay than an actual haystack. But just as I was ready to punch him in the stomach--

"Peregrin and Pimilla Took!" Mum shouted from the kitchen. We immediately stopped and looked up at her, guilt sparkling merrily in our eyes: Pippin's hand grasping my hair and my foot in his gut. We must have been a funny sight to see.

"Get back to work immediately! I don't want to see any more of this or you'll loose FIRST breakfast as well!" With that, she whirled away from the window in a huff (but we could still hear her rambling off to herself angrily in the kitchen).

Fiddlesticks! Pippin and I stared at each other for a split second, terrified at the thought of loosing yet ANOTHER meal. I think we'd die! Instantly, we scrambled to our feet clumsily, kicking up more dust, and scampered back to our chores.

There was no way we would survive this.


End file.
